Fort Fareham - Armament

Armament

The original design of the fort called for forty-nine 7-inch R.B.L. guns with five 64pr R.M.L. guns (changed to 7-inch R.B.L. guns) on Moncrieff counterweight carriages for the main west rampart, with three rifled howitzers and fifteen smooth bore guns for flank defence of the ditches

By the time that the fort was complete the armament had been changed to sixty-four 7-inch R.B.L., five 40 pdr. R.B.L., five 64 pdr. R.M.L. guns with fifteen 32 pdr. S.B.B.L. guns in the caponiers and three Rifled Howitzers. In 1886 the mounted armament was one 7-inch R.B.L. gun and two 6.3-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading howitzers. In 1891 most of the intended armament was in place: fifteen 7-inch RBL consisting of ten guns in the emplacements on the main and south rampart with five guns in the Moncrieff Gun Pit, ten movable guns to cover the Fareham Gap consisting of four 4-inch B.L. on siege carriages and six 40 pdr. R.B.L on traveling carriages. By 1902 most of the land front forts were stood down as defensive structures and their armament, including that at Fort Fareham, was withdrawn. Fort Fareham then continued to serve as a barrack.